Fan club – Despite her time out, 2012 was still a bumper year for Black Caviar. She appeared on the cover of Vogue, launched a best-selling biography and was named Australian Sportswoman of the Year.

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Photos:Black Caviar: Comeback kid?

Aussie army – Win or lose on Saturday, one thing is certain -- Black Caviar has already cemented her place in the hearts of Australians, with thousands cheering her on at Ascot.

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Photos:Black Caviar: Comeback kid?

Future Frankel? – Beyond the track, Black Caviar may also have a profitable career as a breeding mare, with managing owner Neil Werrett hinting that champion British thoroughbred Frankel (pictured) could make a good match.

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Photos:Black Caviar: Comeback kid?

Phar lap's successor? – Comparisons have been drawn between Black Caviar and champion Australian race horse Phar Lap, who rose to fame during the Great Depression. Phar Lap's body is now housed in the Melbourne Museum.

Black Caviar fans flock to Royal Ascot

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Black Caviar meets the British media

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Her performance at the Lightning Stakes, in her hometown of Melbourne, will determine if this is the last hurrah of a stellar career.

"If things go really well, we've got around two or three more races left in her," Madden said.

And if she doesn't live up to expectations?

"We'll just have to see. The fact she got 22 wins without losing, and the affection Australians have for her, means our respect for her is so high. None of us want to see her race if she can't present herself well."

It will be a defining race for a horse who appeared "tired and cranky" in her most recent win at the Diamond Jubilee Stakes in June.

Black Caviar, worth almost $7 million in prize money, barely nudged ahead of the tightly fought pack. It was later revealed she had muscle strain in her legs which would put her out of action -- until now.

"She was courageous the way she won at Ascot," Madden said. "It was at the end of a very long run of competitions -- she'd had five races that year and a trip to the UK."

Healed and rested after an eight-month break, Madden says we'll see a return to the Black Caviar of old on Saturday -- not the mare who scrambled over the finishing line in front of a sellout crowd of 80,000 at Ascot.

"She's fully recovered. She's got a glint in her eye and her mind and body are strong," he added.

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Man + horse + skis = ??

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Portrait of endurance horses

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She appeared back on top form during a training run in Melbourne last week, with bookmakers already placing the two-time Lightning Stakes winner as the favorite for Saturday's race.

Depending on her performance, Black Caviar could next compete at a handful of races across Australia in the coming months, including Newmarket in Melbourne and the T.J. Smith Stakes in Sydney, said Madden.

Since demolishing the field in her first major win at the Danehill Stakes in 2009, an air of mystique has followed world champion thoroughbred.

The superstar mare, who even has her own Twitter handle, has not just won all 22 of her races -- with the exception of Ascot she has won them by staggering margins, destroying world-class fields to become one of the top-rated race horses on the planet.

Her unblemished record is the second highest of all time, trailing behind only Hungarian horse Kincsem, which apparently took 54 races in the late 1800s.

Win or lose on Saturday, one thing is certain -- Black Caviar has already cemented her place in the hearts of Australians.

More than 10,000 people packed into Melbourne's Federation Square to watch her Ascot triumph on the big screen in June, her biography has sold 50,000 copies, and in December she became the first horse to grace the country's Vogue magazine.